SOMALI ARMY SAYS IT KILLED OVER 40 AL-SHABAAB INSURGENTS IN OPERATION

Al-Shabab fighters sit on a truck as they patrol in Mogadishu, Somalia [File: Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP Photo].

Sun 09 July 2023:

On Sunday, the elite Danab unit of the Somali National Army carried out an aerial and ground operation that resulted in the deaths of over 40 al-Shabaab insurgents, including ringleaders, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting country’s Information Ministry.

According to the ministry, the operation was carried out with support from international security partners and targeted a gathering place used by the terrorist group in the village of Welmaro.

Welmaro is located 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the town of Afmadow in the Lower Jubba region in the southern state of Jubaland.

The statement said the airstrikes and ground offensive took place in three different waves.

Somalia has been plagued by years of insecurity with the main threats being from the al-Shabaab and the Daesh/ISIS terror groups.

According to army commander Gen. Ali Mohamud Badmadow, six al-Shabaab prisoners were captured and taken to Afmadow.

The Defense Ministry said the Danab unit and the Jubbaland Dervishes, a local paramilitary force, conducted a separate successful operation against al-Shabaab in the town of Hagar, also in Lower Jubba.

The capital of Jubbaland, Bu’ale, is under control of the terrorist al-Shabaab.

“Our forces moved further into the Afmadow district, diligently clearing mines set by enemies to ensure the safety of our people on the roads. They delivered a powerful blow to Alshabaab in #Jubaland. We salute their courage and resilience,” the Somali Defense Ministry said on Twitter after the operations.

In Somalia itself, al-Shabab has continued to wage deadly attacks despite a major offensive launched last August by pro-government forces, backed by the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

ATMIS, which has 22,000 troops, has been assisting Somalia’s federal government in its war against al-Shabab since 2022, when it replaced the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

But al-Shabab is still capable of launching significant attacks on government, commercial and military targets. It also intermittently launches attacks in neighbouring Kenya as part of reprisals for Nairobi sending troops to support Mogadishu’s rebel pushback.

Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, was formed in 2006 to attempt an overthrow Somalia’s government and impose its strict Islamic legal code of Sharia. Over the years, it has been running its own courts, mainly serving residents of the areas it controls. There is no precise data on the number of people who continue to seek judgements from al-Shabab but they are believed to be in the thousands.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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